I Worry
by BlackAngel1
Summary: One of my earlier fics...please be gentle...1+4. After a mission the Gundams must find shelter from the cold. But one pilot's hurt and may not make it through the night....
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine!  
  
Notes: This is one of my earliest works.please be gentle.  
  
_italics_  
  
/thoughts/  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
*****  
  
Heero  
  
*****  
  
"We can't go on anymore!" Duo's voice came over the intercom. "The snow is too thick and I can't see anything! Now, you might be able to see through a brick wall, but I can't!" He complained, I knew he was talking about me when he said it and it made me mentally smile.  
  
We had just destroyed an Oz base. Everyone had been separated, as if on purpose and most of the Oz soldiers had ganged up on what they thought was our weakest link. Sandrock.  
  
"How you doing Quatre?" I asked over the intercom. He was beside me slightly, walking slowly behind Heavyarms through the snow.  
  
"F-fine." He was shivering and cold. We were all cold. It wasn't that warm in the cockpits of the Gundams. "D-Duo's right H-Heero. I kn-now it doesn't happen v-very often, but I c-can't go on either." He sounded weak.  
  
"Alright." I agreed. "We stop." We stopped, all of the five Gundams huddled in a circle.  
  
"There should be a safe house at least a few miles from here." Wufei's voice was calm. "I think I'll check it out. We can't just stay out here and freeze, the Gundams will probably be buried with us inside."  
  
"Be careful." I heard Duo's voice talking to Wufei. "We'd better all stay connected. Nobody go to sleep." Duo ordered.  
  
There was instantly a yawn. "But I'm tired."  
  
"Come on Cat, you can't go to sleep. Someone talk!" Coming from Mr. Talkative himself. I smiled smugly.  
  
"What damage did you guys sustain?" Trowa asked.  
  
"Minor." I replied. "You Duo?"  
  
"Eh, nothing that can't be fixed.unless someone steals my parts again." He said bitterly, it was as if he was never going to get over that. If I wasn't so cold I might have laughed out loud. "Hey Q, what about you?"  
  
"Nothing s-serious." Came the reply.  
  
"Nothing serious? You can't even fly! Kid, they tried their best to destroy you!" Duo seemed surprised.  
  
Quatre laughed weakly, "I'm still here, aren't I?"  
  
"You battled well today Quatre. I'm proud of you." I said after switching to private so the other two couldn't hear. It wasn't that I didn't want them to, but I figured it was something only for the kid.  
  
"Thanks Heero, it means a lot." He was shivering again.  
  
"Hey Duo, you talk a lot." Trowa said suddenly and this time I did laugh out loud, along with Quatre.  
  
"And that's supposed to mean." Duo wondered.  
  
"Talk about something, tell everyone a story so we stay awake." Trowa suggested.  
  
"Good idea." Duo began to tell us all a story.  
  
******  
  
Quatre  
  
******  
  
I listened to Duo's voice but it was getting harder to stay awake. I could hear Trowa and Heero agreeing every once in a while. Usually only getting a "Yeah" or a "Hn" in edgewise. I felt bad for lying to Heero, I just didn't want him or any of them to worry about me. Sandrock had taken major damage. There was a hole in the cockpit so the cold air was blowing in. Not to mention I had been hurt.  
  
The viewing screen had somehow been cracked, I wasn't sure it would work but I wasn't going to worry about it. I was low on fuel so I shut the machine down, keeping the communication between me and the others open.  
  
Quietly, I grabbed a set of headphones so as not to interrupt Duo, and turned on the radio. I always carried one. I needed to check the weather to see if it was ever going to stop snowing. It didn't feel like it. I must have had it too loud because I didn't hear the others calling to me.  
  
There was a flash of light that blinded me as the viewing screen came on and all three of my friends were watching me, seeming to take sighs of relief.  
  
"Why didn't you answer?" Heero demanded, he was frowning a bit. The tone of his voice made me feel small, and just after he had said that he was proud of me. I always screw up somehow.  
  
"I didn't know you called." I shaded my eyes with my hand. The screen was too bright; "I didn't want to interrupt Duo so I was using headphones for the radio. I wanted to check the weather."  
  
Trowa and Duo seemed satisfied, but Heero wasn't. "Next time tell us so you don't make us worry anymore than we have to." He said it as though they always had to worry about me, as if I was some little brat who couldn't do anything right. Well, compared to them I guess I was.  
  
"Yes." I nodded and set down the headphones. The stations were blocked and all I could get was static, I soon gave up on that idea. I was so cold, but I didn't want to let on. I was still in the view of everyone. "The screen's too bright, I need to shut it off." I said.  
  
"Alright, but talk." Heero demanded, actually it was more of a command. I almost felt like saying, "Yes Dad." But then figured I'd get shot so I kept my mouth shut. I just nodded and turned off the screen. I shivered as soon as the lights went off. But to my surprise a face appeared before me. It was Duo.  
  
"Don't mind Heero Q, he hasn't slept for a while and you know how cranky he is when he doesn't catch his Z's." He said trying to make me feel better.  
  
I smiled shyly, "Thanks Duo." I knew he worried about me too, I could feel it.  
  
***  
  
Duo  
  
***  
  
To me it had always seemed that the great Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier, Mr. Suicidal himself had always had a stick up his ass. And every time he spoke to Quatre the stick seemed to grow two more feet. I knew Heero was bad with his feelings and I'm sure he didn't mean to sound like a total asshole to Q but he probably couldn't help it. He worried about Quatre. We all did.  
  
I worried about everyone though, I knew I didn't need to. I mean I knew Heero could handle himself. The guy has blown himself up more than once and he's still around. Sometimes I wish he wasn't.and Trowa is a great soldier when it comes to combat, he could handle himself. Wu-man I didn't need to worry about. I'd seen him fight and that was all the proof I needed. And I, well, I was Shinigami, the God of Death, I could hold my own.  
  
But Quatre was the only one out of the group that was actually still decent. I don't know how or why he ever got into fighting. He should have been growing up like a normal teenager, playing basketball and hitting the math books, instead of playing 'war' and hitting the bad guys.  
  
Don't get me wrong, he's not a weak person, he just isn't the greatest fighter. He's too sensitive, something that doesn't really play a part in a pilots life, especially one of a Gundam pilot. If I was him I would have such a guilty conscious that I wouldn't be able to sleep at night!  
  
My intercom went off. "There's a base about 150 miles from here." Wufei's voice came from the black speaker.  
  
"Wufee! You always come through dude!" I laughed, happy to hear his voice.  
  
"Unlike some people we know, huh Maxwell?" Wufei shot back and I just grinned.  
  
"Alright, let's move out." Mr. Leader said as we began our journey to the safe house. It was pretty bad; the wind was blowing so hard that it nearly knocked my Gundam down! The snow was so high it was hard to move too. And forget about flying, I for one wasn't going to leave Quatre all by himself.  
  
*****  
  
Wufei  
  
*****  
  
I led the others to the safe house. It took us a while to get there because Sandrock was trudging behind the rest of us and the Winner boy wouldn't answer on the com and he had shut his viewing screen off.  
  
Trowa had mentioned that at least he was following us, that he was still awake to pilot Sandrock. Yuy only cursed and swore under his breath, hoping that the boy would hear him, which was how he showed he cared. He had feelings for the young boy, which I didn't want to discuss.  
  
"I checked the inside of the safe house." I mentioned. Heero didn't stop swearing, but Trowa and Duo replied.  
  
"What's inside?" Duo asked. "I'm hoping blankets."  
  
"Plenty of them, at least two for each, at least that's what it looked like. Plenty of food and dry firewood as well. There are only two beds though." I cringed, remembering the last time I had to share a bed with someone. "And this time I am _not_ sharing a bed with Maxwell! He snores, he drools and he talks in his sleep! Not to mention he never _stops_ talking." I said bitterly.  
  
"Duo doesn't stop talking when he's awake." Trowa was slightly amused. "He doesn't stop moving either."  
  
"That's another thing." I remembered about my past experience with Maxwell, "He rolls around on the bed all the time, he practically pushed me off once, then tried to flatten me when I wouldn't move!" That got a laugh from Trowa.  
  
"God dammit!" Heero's voice suddenly rang through the COM.  
  
"What's wrong now?" Duo wondered.  
  
"Where's Sandrock?" Heero shot back.  
  
I stopped Nataku. Sure enough there was no sign of Sandrock. Nobody moved as we stared into the icy wind. Finally Sandrock came into view. We had climbed over a hill and the Gundam had disappeared in a depression. We waited for the lumbering machine to catch up, then started forward again.  
  
"I see the safe house!" Maxwell suddenly shouted, and let out a loud "Whoop!" sound.  
  
*****  
  
Trowa  
  
*****  
  
I smiled inwardly as we made it to the safe house. Duo was singing Christmas carols as we packed up our supplies. I was looking forward to getting warm and eating. After taking a breath, I opened the hatch and was immediately greeted by a harsh wind that tried to freeze me to my seat.  
  
I was the first to the safe house and the first inside. I watched as the others stumbled in. There was only one problem. Only three had entered. I didn't say anything to the others; I just left the safe house, closing the door behind me. I blindly made my way to Sandrock. After climbing to the hatch my hands were thoroughly frozen.  
  
I noticed the hole right away. It was letting all the cold air into the cockpit where the pilot was. I kicked the side of the door and the hatch opened. I looked down and found an unconscious body. I unstrapped the wounded blonde from his seat and pulled him from the cockpit. Blood had seeped through his clothing and I understood why he had turned his viewing screen off, so we couldn't see that he was wounded. He knew we worried.  
  
There was too much blood to see where the wound was, and I noticed that he had lost so much of it that he had literally been lying in a pool of his own blood. As I lifted him from the seat I spotted it sitting where he had just been. His entire backside was soaked, along with most of his front. It dripped from his boot and onto the metal floor.  
  
Quickly I dragged the lifeless body to the ground and made my way through the snow, back to the safe house. I kicked the door open for I had no hands to use. Duo was there right away and closed the door behind me. There was a fire made so I lay the dying pilot close to it. I didn't have to say anything. Heero was there beside the body. I knew about his feelings as well. I backed away and let him take over, he seemed to know what to do. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine!  
  
Notes: This is one of my earliest works.please be gentle.  
  
_italics_  
  
/thoughts/  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
*****  
  
Heero  
  
*****  
  
I literally ripped Quatre's clothes off of his limp body. Duo was rushing away to get some water and the first aid kid while Wufei brought over a blanket. Quatre's lips and fingers had turned a light blue colour and the rest of his body was soon following, at least where you couldn't see blood, which was only the neck up, except for the tips of his blonde hair which had been dyed a dark red.  
  
Glass, somehow had been blown into his body, hitting him in the chest and stomach. Not to mention in his left arm and both legs. The shards had moved as well, probably by the movements he had made with his body. Long deep cuts were spewing blood.  
  
Duo brought over the first aid kit, along with some warm water. Together we carefully cleaned the wounds, then picked the glass out of them. We cleaned them again, and stopped the bleeding. I stitched them up while Duo cleaned the rest of his body. By this time Quatre had warmed slightly, but now his body was unthawing, causing him to shiver more and jerk his body. He moaned now and then.  
  
While this was happening, I kept cursing at him, calling him a baka, among other things, all the while wondering why he didn't tell us. Finally Duo and I had finished and we carefully wrapped the boy in a few of the blankets.  
  
I used one of mine and Duo gave me one of his. Trowa also volunteered his extra blanket and because everyone else did Wufei did too. Even with the six blankets Quatre still shivered violently. I wrapped my arms around the blankets and held him as close as I could. I didn't look at the others, I couldn't.  
  
Duo warmed up soup and by the time it was done the four of us were warm. He handed out the soup and left some in the pot for Quatre. I left mine beside me. "Heero, you have to eat." Duo warned. "You not eating won't make Quatre any better."  
  
I ignored him.  
  
"Yes, and he thinks I'm the baka." Duo rolled his eyes as he mumbled to himself but made sure he was loud enough for everyone to hear, including myself.  
  
"Eat Heero." A new voice said suddenly and I looked down at the bundle in my arms. Quatre's blue eyes stared up at me. Innocence, like a newborn baby twinkled at me. His voice was a hushed whisper and it seemed to be difficult for him to speak. When I didn't reply he spoke again, "Do I have to feed it to you myself?" His voice had grown some strength, but he seemed to use it all up in his threat. He whimpered after he had spoken and he closed his eyes tightly in pain.  
  
I didn't reply at first, then I looked at the soup sitting on the floor. "Only if you eat first." I replied softly, unable to find my full voice. I looked at him and he smiled, then nodded slightly.  
  
******  
  
Quatre  
  
******  
  
I was sitting against Heero, as funny as that seemed. Hey I was naked too. Talk about uncomfortable. The five of us sat around the fire. I tried to eat, but we soon found that it was impossible for me to feed myself. My hands shook too much and my fingers were still frozen and I was extremely dizzy. So, since I was totally and utterly useless Duo switched places with Heero. He held my hands within his own to try to warm them up. While Duo did that, and let me use him as a leaning post, Heero fed me. I felt embarrassed at first, but I was too hungry to care after awhile.  
  
And like he had promised, when I had finished, Heero ate as well. When he had finished they talking about sleeping arrangements. Wufei was stuck with Duo while Trowa took a bed of his own. I was still cold and would be sleeping by the fire and Heero wasn't going to leave me.  
  
Of course, I missed a lot because I kept slipping in and out of consciousness.  
  
*************************************  
  
Heero (the rest of the story will be)  
  
*************************************  
  
I watched him sleep. That was all I could do. I wanted to touch him, to caress his soft skin. But no, I was Heero Yuy, Mr. No-Show as Duo had called me once. I didn't show emotions, at least, I tried not to. And when I did I always did something wrong. Like when the five of us had been trying to get to the safe house. I had snapped at Quatre and had made him feel unimportant to me which was completely the opposite of what I truly felt.  
  
Duo was beside me, another reason for me to keep my hands to myself. He was as worried as I was, he and Quatre had gotten closer in friendship and I couldn't help but feel jealousy. They got along so well.  
  
"He's cold." Duo's voice woke me from my thoughts. I looked over at the sleeping boy and saw that he was shivering. How could he still be cold? He had six blankets, no make that seven, I had given him both of mine. Not to mention he was lying in front of a blazing fire that was beginning to get too warm for me and he had been for almost five hours.  
  
/He's sensitive, he still feels./ A voice inside my head mentioned.  
  
"Heero, I'm going to give you a piece of advice." Duo said, "Life's short, live it up as much as you can." He said.  
  
"And you're telling me this why exactly?" I asked, annoyed with his voice.  
  
"Hold him Heero. You know you want to. And besides, it'll keep him warm." Duo shrugged.  
  
I was stunned, how did he know?  
  
The look on my face must have shown my surprise, "Oh come off it man, we all know. Trowa knows, I know, even Wufei knows." He said as if it weren't a big deal.  
  
"Quatre." I faltered.  
  
"You know Cat, as blind as a bat." Duo grinned.  
  
"Bats aren't blind." I heard my own voice state matter of factly.  
  
Duo frowned, "Okay, okay. He's blonde. Does that make it better?" He asked jokingly, I could see that he was trying to make me admit that I liked the boy.  
  
"No, now you're just insulting him." I said, not giving up just yet.  
  
"Ah, I wouldn't insult Quatre! You know, out of all the Gundam pilots, I think he's the cutest!" Duo whispered and I couldn't help it. I blushed. Duo laughed, knowing he had me. "Tell him while you still can Heero, war is unpredictable. And right now he's sick." He sighed, getting up, "One of you may not be there in the morning." He left the room, leaving me with my thoughts and a still shivering pilot.  
  
I slowly unwrapped the blankets from the body, then I crawled under myself and wrapped the remaining blankets around the both of us. I could feel the cold from Quatre's skin and in scared me. He had lost a lot of blood, if I could I would have given him my own. But the types probably wouldn't match and there was no equipment.  
  
I hesitated before wrapping my arms around him, but when I did the feeling was immediate. I felt calm and at peace. Quatre shivered again, this time whimpering as he moved closer to me. He was looking for heat, that's all it was. At least that's what my mind said. I looked down at his pale face. Pain showed on his soft features. His eyes were shut tightly sometimes and he seemed to be gasping for breath. Sweat, despite his shivering had started dripping from his hair. He was now in a feverish sleep.  
  
I couldn't help myself; I gently kissed his cheek. He tasted sweet, like candy and I memorized the feel of his skin against mine and the taste of him for I'd never have it again.  
  
"Heero." Quatre's voice whimpered.  
  
I gasped, had he been awake? I felt like pulling away from the trembling body, but found I couldn't. I couldn't leave him, and I wouldn't, ever.  
  
"I'm sorry Heero." Quatre whimpered again and I realized he had been talking in his sleep.  
  
Unknown on what to do I took a breath, "Sorry about what Quatre?" I whispered, hoping the other pilots were asleep. I could hear Duo's snoring already, but both Wufei and Trowa were silent.  
  
"I disappointed you." He whispered.  
  
"You've never disappointed me Quatre, now sleep." I said and going against everything I had been taught, I kissed him again, this time on his nose. He was silent at least and hopefully sleeping peacefully.  
  
I sighed and settled down myself to try and get some sleep. It seemed nearly impossible, but I always was able to do the impossible. I fell asleep. But when I woke up, Quatre was gone. 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine!  
  
Notes: This is one of my earliest works.please be gentle.  
  
_italics_  
  
/thoughts/  
  
  
  
Chapter Three  
  
*****  
  
Heero  
  
*****  
  
I sat up startled. The cold body beside mine was no longer beside mine. I got up in search of our frozen friend. I looked in the bedroom where Duo and Wufei were sharing and found nothing. Coming out into the hall I ran into Trowa who was carrying the small blonde.  
  
"Lose something?" He seemed to be smiling.  
  
"Guess I did." I came down from my fear of never seeing Quatre again. "Where did you find him?" I wanted to know.  
  
"He needed to use the bathroom." Trowa said gently, carefully handing me the sleeping child. A child, would he always seem like a child to me?  
  
"Thank you." I replied, not daring to look up at Trowa.  
  
"Tell him Heero." Trowa's voice startled me.  
  
"You too?" I sighed as I took the body back over to the fire. I carefully laid him down, then noticed there was blood soaking through the dressing of his chest wound.  
  
"Yes, me too." Trowa said quietly, "I'll go get the first aid kit." He left without a sound and he returned just as quietly. I had undressed the wound and found that it had been opened, the stitches had been ripped. I sighed and we started all over again.  
  
Trowa stitched him up this time. We had no way of numbing the pain and Quatre whimpered every time the needle pierced him. It was then that I noticed that he was no longer shivering.  
  
"He's warmer." Trowa said, as if knowing what I had just thought.  
  
Suddenly there was a voice. "Why Wufei! I didn't know you cared!" Duo said loudly.  
  
"Maxwell! It wasn't on purpose!" Wufei insisted.  
  
"Sure it wasn't. Me waking up to find you cuddling to me. It wasn't on purpose." Duo laughed and Wufei groaned and stormed from the room and noticed we were all up.  
  
"It wasn't on purpose." He said simply then sat down by the fire. Duo came out to join us, a large grin on his face.  
  
"How's Quatre?" He asked as he plopped down across from Wufei.  
  
"Better." Trowa replied for me as I finished with the wound. Then I wrapped him back up in the blankets. He may have been warmer, but he was still pale. I must have lingered against Quatre too long because Wufei's voice was what I heard next.  
  
"So, is Heero finally admitting that he has feelings?" There was a slight smirk on his face and I just glared at him.  
  
"At least I don't cuddle up to Duo." I mumbled and Wufei shut up immediately.  
  
Duo tried to cut his laughter off but it didn't work and we all heard a moan, which stopped Duo's laughing. Everyone looked, rather gaped as Quatre moved, facing the fire, then he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to see straight.  
  
"Cat?" Duo was the first to move, "Hey buddy, how do you feel?" He asked gently brushed the sweat soaked hair from Quatre's face. I felt jealousy flash through me even though I commanded it to stop, it didn't.  
  
Quatre graced him with a sweet smile. "It feels like Sandrock fell on me." His voice was weak still and I had to fight the urge to tell him to go to sleep. But Duo beat me to it.  
  
He chuckled under his breath as he brought a blanket up to Quatre's chin. "Sandrock didn't fall on ya. Heavyarms did." Duo joked and Quatre knew it. He smiled again and his weak condition showed on his face. "Now, since you still have a fever, not to mention three less quarts of blood in you than before I suspect you'd better get some shut eye." Duo grinned, "Then, when you wake up, I've got a little story to tell you about Wufei and how you should never sleep in the same bed as him."  
  
"Maxwell!" Wufei groaned making Quatre laugh, but he ended up coughing. He couldn't seem to catch his breath so I helped Duo help him to sit up. Once in a sitting position he coughed a little easier.  
  
"I'm alright." He said as Duo helped him to lie back down and then covered him up again.  
  
Duo smiled, "I didn't doubt it for a second. But you nearly gave Mr. Perfect Soldier over there a reason to change his spandex." It sounded wrong in my mind, but innocent Quatre didn't take it sick.  
  
Quatre looked over at me, his expression turning serious and pleading. "I'm sorry Heero." His voice was quiet and I knew all eyes were on me.  
  
I didn't know what to say and I didn't want to screw it up. So I did the best thing I could think of. Despite the fact that everyone was watching I leaned forward and kissed Quatre directly on the lips. I felt him tense in surprise then relax slowly.  
  
I pulled away then and saw that he still had his eyes closed, slowly they opened and they looked up at me with wonder and lust. "I take that as an accepted apology." Quatre said breathlessly. His face was flushed, now for a different reason other than the fever.  
  
Trowa moved and bowed slightly, "I will take my leave now and say good night to you all. I'm happy to see you better Quatre." He said then left the room.  
  
Duo forced a yawn; "I'd better get back to my bed too. Wufee, I might get a little lonely." He grinned.  
  
Wufei grunted, "You're sleeping with Trowa. Goodnight Quatre, Heero." He got up and went to his room, followed by Duo.  
  
"See ya guys! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Duo grinned.  
  
"That puts a great limit on the things we could do." Quatre said, "And none of them would be that fun." He grinned as Duo laughed and left the room. Then he turned to me.  
  
"I'm sorry I kissed you." I said, looking into the fire.  
  
"I'm not." Came the response.  
  
I looked down at the blonde lying in front of me. I cleared my throat, suddenly finding the room to be extremely warm. "You have no reason to apologize. You did nothing wrong." I said.  
  
Quatre only blinked, then finally he took a breath, "I lied to you. I told you that I wasn't hurt, I told you that Sandrock hadn't taken any damage. I'm sorry I always make you worry."  
  
"Really, that's not your fault." I found myself blushing. I hadn't thought it was possible. "I worry about you all the time and it has nothing to do with battling. I worry that you're not happy.or when you're sick. That sense, that you feel from others, I'm scared one day that you'll be in great pain." The words rushed out of my mouth from some place inside myself that I never knew existed. My heart.  
  
"I found myself thinking that.a soldier doesn't feel, can't feel. They know not what love means or what it means to feel love. A soldier doesn't need love." I found a hand in mine.  
  
"But a human does." Quatre's voice whispered, squeezing my fingers painfully. I gently squeezed his cold hand back, imagining myself sending warmth into his body. "H.Heero?" Quatre's voice seemed small and I looked at him to find that he was getting shy. "C.can you do me a favor?" He asked in a low voice.  
  
"Anything for you." I said, making my voice just as low as his.  
  
"Hold me?" He whispered, "While I sleep?"  
  
I lay down beside him, getting under the covers without a word and gently wrapped my arms around his wounded body. He snuggled closer and then yawned, "Good night Heero." He whispered and before I could reply he began to doze off, "I love you."  
  
  
  
Owari!  
  
What'd ya think?! Huh, huh, huh?!! 


End file.
